Shake It Up (2)
The fist that had been extended as if to help him up was already open. Watanabe, looking at the hand offered to him, found himself instinctively grabbing it and pulling himself to his feet. "Are you working as an Hermès model again?" Even though Yoon-gi already knew everything, he feigned ignorance and asked about his recent status.
"Huh? Oh, no... Well, it's just..." Watanabe stammered, his face flushing red. At the same time, he found himself unable to conjure up the question of why Yoon-gi was here, or why he was being kind instead of hostile. This was because Yoon-gi was carefully controlling the tempo of the conversation to ensure those thoughts never took root.
"Are you still unable to do Hermès modeling work?" Although it was Yoon-gi who had caused him to lose that job, his nonchalant tone left Watanabe completely unaware of his own situation as he began to speak. "Umm... right now, I'm modeling for a different brand..."
"A different brand? Which one?"
"That's... well, it's a bit..." Because it was a brand two tiers lower than Hermès, Watanabe found it difficult to speak. Especially since he knew how popular Yoon-gi had been among the chaebols while working as an Hermès Japan model. Though not as widely known in Korea as one might think, Yoon-gi's modeling work had brought such positive effects to Hermès Japan that even the flagship store staff recognized him, staring at him with wide, surprised eyes.
"Is there something on my face?" At Yoon-gi's words, the staff member blushed slightly and asked, "Um... a-are you... by any chance... the former Hermès Japan model?"
"That's right." At Yoon-gi's smiling nod, a flush spread across the staff member's face. Although his hair was short because he was living a student life in Korea, just as a short-haired Won Bin was handsome, Yoon-gi was radiating a considerable level of charm even with his short hair.
"Watanabe, what's wrong? Is it that hard to talk to me? Am I that uncomfortable to be around?"
"That's..." Even with the time to prepare his heart through the conversation with the staff, Watanabe still stammered, unable to answer.
"I'm a little disappointed. I heard that the Japanese don't hold grudges, but I didn't expect you to still be so wary of me. Didn't our bad blood end with that incident last time?" Yoon-gi's voice was filled with disappointment. Because this instilled a slight sense of fear in Watanabe, he blurted out the brand name and began to vent, almost without realizing it. "It's just... it's a brand I'm embarrassed to mention to you..."
"What's wrong with that brand? If Hermès is a brand for the wealthy few, isn't that brand one full of familiarity that brings a sense of awe to ordinary people? It seems like it would be quite good for making your name known, wouldn't it?"
"W-well, that's true, but..." Watanabe smacked his lips as if regretful. If one becomes an Hermès Japan model, one can make an impression among the wealthy and become an object of envy. However, while Watanabe might have the potential to be an object of envy for commoners, that wasn't what he wanted, which was why he couldn't readily agree with Yoon-gi.
"Anyway, we're done with the grudges, right?" As Yoon-gi, an object of both fear and awe, approached him without hesitation, Watanabe nodded his head hurriedly and readily.
'A people who don't hold grudges? That's funny coming from me. It's not that they don't hold grudges, it's that they show infinite tolerance toward the strong.'
However, Watanabe, having no way of knowing Yoon-gi's thoughts, instinctively began to show a fawning attitude toward him. "That aside, I just arrived in Japan and I'm hungry. Have you eaten?"
"Huh? Oh, no. Not yet."
"Then, is there a decent restaurant around here? I'll treat you."
"Really?" Watanabe's face brightened at the fact that a strong person was showing him favor, and Yoon-gi delivered the finishing blow by draping his arm over Watanabe's shoulder. Although he was still a middle schooler, Yoon-gi's height, already approaching the late 170s, was more than enough to drape his arm over the 170cm-tall Watanabe.
"Of course. Since we're celebrating the end of our bad blood, I'll pay, so lead me to an expensive and delicious place."
"Got it!" As Watanabe excitedly took the lead, Yoon-gi followed behind with a faint, cynical smile, one that only Choi Cheol-kyu could see.
Seeing the restaurant Watanabe had confidently guided him to, Yoon-gi wore a puzzled expression. "Here?"
"Yeah. This place is really great."
A restaurant costing about 10,000 yen per person. Simply put, based on the 2010s, it would be about 30,000 to 40,000 yen per person; it wasn't cheap by any means, but Yoon-gi shook his head. "It's not that great."
"Why...? Is it too expensive...?" Watanabe's neck shrank slightly into his body.
"No, I just wondered if you were looking down on me too much."
"W-what do you mean by that..." Seeing Watanabe, who was slightly intimidated, Yoon-gi intentionally smiled a little. "We can't have our first meal together at a place like this. Secretary Seo."
"Yes." Seo Jong-hoon understood Yoon-gi's intentions and immediately played along. "Find a very decent restaurant in this area."
"I happen to know a restaurant you would like." Guided by Seo Jong-hoon, the party got back into the car and moved to the restaurant he had mentioned.
"Gasp, t-this is...!" Watanabe's jaw dropped, his expression one of disbelief.
"Why?" At Yoon-gi's feigned confusion, Watanabe reacted with absurdity. "Yoon, do you know how much this restaurant costs?"
The place Seo Jong-hoon had led them to was a high-end French restaurant targeting the wealthy. It was an outrageously expensive place aimed at Japanese people who had such a fantasy about France that "Paris Syndrome" was a recognized condition.
"How much is it?"
"It will easily exceed 50,000 yen per person."
"That's nothing."
A restaurant that would cost 100,000 to 150,000 yen per person by modern standards. Even for Watanabe, spending that much on alcohol was easy, but it was a restaurant he had never dared to visit because it was a significant amount of money to spend purely on food.
"Secretary Seo, then come back with the others in two hours." At Yoon-gi's words, everyone except Cha Pil-kyu nodded politely and stopped in their tracks. One cannot always treat everyone the same as oneself. Following his grandfather's advice, Yoon-gi was applying the method of drawing lines at appropriate levels.
[I know how much you favor Secretary Ryu and that Cheol-kyu kid, but there must always be a difference in treatment compared to you. They won't have any complaints, but another subordinate watching their treatment might complain about why they aren't getting the same treatment.]
It was advice truly born from experience. For Yoon-gi, who needed more efficient ways to manage his growing number of subordinates, it was like a plum in the desert. Naturally, because Ryu Geun-tae and Choi Cheol-kyu accepted it immediately, the order just given could be carried out without any friction.
'It really was timely advice from my grandfather. If it hadn't been for him, I would have ended up taking 100 people to the same restaurant to eat later.'
Yoon-gi chuckled inwardly and headed to the restaurant entrance with only Cha Pil-kyu in tow, while Watanabe followed behind, looking awkward.
"Welcome." This restaurant was difficult to enter, but there were no problems for Yoon-gi and Watanabe. That was because of Cha Pil-kyu's presence. Seeing the bodyguard, the staff at the main entrance let them into the restaurant, and the two sat at a table as guided by the interior staff. A moment later, Watanabe looked at Yoon-gi and Cha Pil-kyu with a bewildered expression and scanned his surroundings. It was because he remembered that when Yoon-gi spoke to the others earlier, they had all left.
To Watanabe, who didn't know Korean, it looked like all of Yoon-gi's subordinates except Cha Pil-kyu had vacated their seats, so he couldn't help but be flustered. 'How are we supposed to talk if there's no one to interpret...?' All conversations until now had been through Seo Jong-hoon, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Why?"
"No, I don't see the person who interprets... huh?" For a moment, Watanabe doubted his own ears.
"Why, what's wrong?"
"W-w-w-w-what. You knew how to speak our language?"
"Yeah. I started studying three months ago."
"What? Three months?"
"Yeah, three months. So I still can't really use honorifics or anything like that. I can only use general terms, so I'd appreciate it if you understood that."
"No, I mean, you learned our language to the point where you can use it generally in just three months?"
At Watanabe's eyes-popping reaction, Yoon-gi responded with a puzzled look. "Is it that strange?"
"No, isn't it obviously strange? If I said I could speak Korean... no, Korean, like that in three months, would you believe me?" For a moment, Watanabe, who was about to speak according to his usual habits, hurriedly changed his words, reminding himself who was in front of him. He was terrified of Yoon-gi, but that didn't mean his contempt for South Korea had vanished.
"Can't you do that?"
"Huh?"
"Isn't it possible to do that if you study for about three months?"
"No! It's absolutely impossible!" Seeing Watanabe's reaction, Yoon-gi finally wore a playful expression. "I'm joking. But it is true that I've been studying for three months. I inherited a superior brain thanks to my grandfather. Well, they say a true genius studied German for a week and gave a lecture in German when he had to give a lecture in Germany, though."
At Choi Deok-bae's words, Yoon-gi chuckled as if to show Choi Deok-bae, and nodded naturally. "Working at Hermès Japan, I became interested in Japan and started studying. But isn't it comfortable like this? Come to think of it, you're the first Japanese person to know that I can speak Japanese."
He didn't know exactly why, but Watanabe felt a sense of pride knowing he was the first.
"I'm honored, somehow."
"Anyway, shall we order?" Yoon-gi ordered without looking at the prices on the menu, and even called the sommelier to pair a very expensive wine for Watanabe.
"Oh my god... are you sure this is okay?" Watanabe was anxious, thinking, 'Don't tell me they're going to eat this and run?' but on the outside, he continued his conversation with Yoon-gi.
"I don't know why you keep acting like that. Guard Cha?" At Yoon-gi's words, Cha Pil-kyu opened his suit jacket slightly to reveal a bundle of cash in his inner pocket. "I didn't want to say this in such a vulgar way, but my family is quite capable. You probably heard that from your parents, right?"
For a moment, Watanabe shuddered, remembering being beaten with a wooden sword by his father for almost getting his family wiped out. "Ugh..."
Since it was certain that his parents were in Watanabe's head given the situation, Yoon-gi changed the topic of conversation to his true purpose. "Anyway, I saw you at the Hermès flagship store earlier; do you still have lingering regrets about Hermès?"
At the word Hermès, Watanabe's face darkened. "I suppose so..."
Watanabe, who had been a model for a brand beyond his capabilities thanks to his parents' connections. Considering the status Hermès brings to the wealthy, it wasn't strange at all that Watanabe felt regretful.
"Hmm, if I were to talk to your parents, I think I might be able to get you another chance."